Being a language major is hard enough when that language is English, let alone when it's a language you really didn't grow up speaking. It's cool to appreciate other cultures and have the capacity to express yourself in another language, and it definitely comes in handy in all aspects of life, business, education and otherwise. But, as with most college majors, it comes with its quirks.
People constantly ask you to say something in the other language.
"Oh my god, you're a Spanish major?! Wait wait say something in Spanish!" What do you want me to say? "Say anything! I want to hear your Spanish skills!" Ummm... Tengo hambre. "What's that mean?" I'm hungry. Just because I take classes in another language does not mean I have a set of sentences ready on command, friends. You can use Google Translate if you're jonesing for another language.
Going to Mexican restaurants is your own personal hell.
"Wait, can you like, order for me in Spanish? Can you tell them I want Arroz con Pollo? And like, a margarita?" Now I know y'all can say Arroz con Pollo and margarita. You don't need me for that, and I'm not trying to make a huge fool of myself and show off my American-accented Spanish to the people who are serving our food. Bad idea.
Sometimes, you forget how to speak English.
There are words in other languages that don't have a direct translation to English. But they make SO MUCH sense in the other language that you cannot think of a word that has the same meaning. And there are times where you draw a blank and just can't think of the word in English, so you either pause mid-conversation like an idiot or just say the word in the other language. (I say "darse cuenta de" instead of "realize" about 98% of the time, and only my fellow Spanish majors know what I mean.)
And other times, English sucks.
Learning the grammar, structure, and vernacular of another language sometimes teaches you how little sense English actually makes. Like, "read" in past and present tense is the exact same word. Who came up with that idea?! And "led" and "lead?" And in Spanish, "soulmate" can translate to "media naranja," which literally means half of an orange. You can tell someone that they are your soulmate, while sounding so poetic and cute. Why is English not this cute? Ugh, I'm moving to Spain.
